This decadent dessert is dairy-free, suitable for vegans and can even be made gluten free as well, but you’ll never be able to tell! Rich moist chocolate sponge, topped with creamy caramel sauce and crunchy salty popcorn. Serve with chocolate sorbet or dairy free ice cream for a luxury finish.
Cookies are a great thing to bake with kids and with the UK currently in lockdown I decided to try to create a new recipe that I could bake with the boys but which would also fit in with what I’m eating during Veganuary. They have been taste tasted and approved by the boys and their dad and I’ve already been asked “Mummy! When can we make those new cookies again?!”
I think that brownies and blondies are my favourite thing to bake. They are super easy to mix, don’t take too long to bake and are cooled and ready to eat quite quickly too. This is important as I’m not a very patient person so I can’t wait to eat the cake that I’ve made! These Raspberry and White Chocolate blondies are gluten and dairy free and are really easy to make.
Bakewell tart was one of my favourite puddings as a child. I remember my Grandma always making one for me when we would go down and visit. One of Ethan’s favourite cakes to pick in the supermarket is a Cherry Bakewell. We both love that almond marzipan taste however I’m not a fan of glace cherries.
I’ve got another new vegan recipe for you and this one is a lovely treat. My absolute favourite mid morning snack is a cup of herbal tea and a slice of cake. There’s nothing better than having a break, sitting on the sofa and enjoying a sweet treat. What if that sweet treat was good for you? I love gingerbread but it’s very heavy on the refined sugar and I wanted to reduce this and also make it gluten and dairy free.
Chocolate for breakfast? Yes please! It probably won’t come as a surprise to you that we love our chocolate in this house. My Chocolate and Almond Granola is a staple and my boys, and in particular Ethan makes sure I make a batch every week. As I’m taking part in Veganuary I was looking for some new breakfast recipes and thinking about how I could find some nutritious as well as quick and easy to make breakfasts now we’re back into the routine of school and work when mornings are rushed.
I want to try to do Veganuary again in the new year. I tried a couple of years ago and only managed 12 days so I really want to challenge myself to complete the whole month this time. When I tried it before I hadn’t long been trying to be gluten and dairy free and I found it really hard to cut out meat and fish too. Over the last two years I have tried a lot more vegan recipes and therefore have more of a variety of foods I know I can eat and will like.
We get through so much pasta on a weekly basis in our house. Pesto is our favourite for a quick family meal on a school night but when we have people round for dinner we always do one of the same two recipes. One is a Classic Ragu Bolognese from The Chiappa Sister’s book “Simply Italian” and the other is a Courgette Carbonara from Jamie Oliver’s book “Jamie at Home”. I’ve made these over and over again over the past few years and we never get tired of them so why not have a go and let me know which one you prefer?
I always thought I didn’t like curry, I thought they were too spicy and I was really unsure of the ingredients but over the past couple of years I developed a taste for them. I especially love fragrant and creamy curries and I still don’t like too much heat. This recipe is inspired by a Gousto box recipe we tried a few weeks ago and Jamie Oliver’s comfort food tikka masala. I mixed up the ingredients and it turned out so tasty!
I’m really passionate about home cooking and making nutritious meals from scratch but being a super busy working Mum, I’m also a massive fan of a shortcut if it’s done with good quality ingredients and no artificial stuff. I want to know where things come from and I want my boys to learn about good food. I want them to be enthusiastic about food and learn that real cooking doesn’t have to take all day and that anyone can do it. You may know by now that I love comfort food and I think spaghetti and meatballs along with lasagna are Italy’s ultimate comfort foods. This recipe is a family favourite that I have reinvented using Spice N Tice’s Italian Meatball Marinara Seasoning Kit.